A SPECIAL SECTION OF THE DENISON BULLETIN AND DENISON REVIEW | Friday, February 28, 2014

Page 2

College Guide

February 28, 2014

Keep the end goal in mind when selecting a college
Many tools available
at I Have A Plan Iowa
It may be hard to believe, but graduation is just around the corner for high
school seniors and now is the time for
them to apply to colleges and make postsecondary education plans.
The Iowa College Student Aid Commission (Iowa College Aid) encourages all
seniors to take advantage of the college
planning resources provided in I Have A
Plan Iowa and at IowaCollegeAid.gov to
help with this process.
“One of the worst reasons for choosing
a college is because that is where their
friends are going,” said Karen Misjak,
executive director for Iowa College Aid.
“The tools and resources available to
Iowa students and families can help them
make more informed decisions.”
Revisit your list
As students narrow down their lists
of potential colleges, they should continue to investigate the institutions that
offer fields of study of interest to them.
Through their I Have A Plan Iowa account, students can browse colleges and
universities that match characteristics
they find important. A Compare Schools
feature allows users to do a side-by-side
comparison of schools.
By utilizing the School Finder, students
can perform a more detailed search for
schools based on more than 30 different
factors such as size, tuition, specialized
academic programs, cultural diversity and
more.
Iowa College Aid also provides infor-

Tools for financial aid planning for college can be found on the I Have A Plan Iowa website at https://secure.ihaveaplaniowa.gov/Financial_Aid_Planning/_default.aspx.

mation on colleges and universities in the
state at www.IowaCollegeAidDataCenter.
gov. By selecting “Iowa Colleges and Universities” from the Higher Education Data
Center, students can access college and
program information, retention and graduation rates, and the U.S. Department of
Education’s College Scorecard that provides information about each college’s
value and affordability.
Keep an open mind
Don’t initially rule out a college or university because of its published cost. The

actual cost of college can be much less
than the “sticker price”. The financial
aid award package from the college may
make it more affordable than initially
thought.
To get a general idea of the estimated
net price after financial aid has been
taken into consideration, students can
use the college or university’s net price
calculator. Iowa College Aid links to each
college’s net price calculator in the “Iowa
College and Universities” section of the
Higher Education Data Center at www.
IowaCollegeAidDataCenter.gov.

Determine how much you can afford
to borrow
When selecting a college, it is most important to focus on the end goal – graduating and securing a career. The choice
should be a balance of cost, academics
and campus life.
In the current economy, in which many
families have been unable to save for college and students face a tough job market, it is increasingly important to align
college choice with cost and career potential.
To keep from joining the ranks of debtridden college graduates, students should
select a college where the loan debt can
be kept at a reasonable level relative to
their future income potential. The Student
Loans Over Projected Earnings (SLOPE)
calculator in www.IHaveAPlanIowa.gov
can help students calculate estimated
monthly payment amounts for student
loans and compare it to projected earnings for their career choice. The results
will indicate how much they can afford
to borrow.
“It is important for students to remember that while they will be spending a few
years at college, they will spend considerably more years paying back student
loans,” said Misjak. “It is our hope that
seniors will utilize resources, such as
those provided by our agency, to make
informed decisions when selecting and
ultimately paying for college.”
For information about the resources
and services provided by Iowa College
Aid to help Iowa families plan, prepare
and pay for college, visit www.IowaCollegeAid.gov or contact Iowa College Aid
at 877-272-4456.

The new student housing is surrounded by beautiful
lakes and features a recreational trail into town. The
grounds also include basketball, sand volleyball, and
tennis courts.
We invite you to live at NIACC and join our vibrant
campus community. There’s no better way to become
connected to the college, the campus, and the student
body.You’ll experience college life as it’s meant to be,
and build friendships that will last a lifetime.

85-College2014(2014)NA

February 28, 2014

College Guide

Page 3

Evaluate dining as part of a campus visit
by David Porter
Across the country, high school students are busy
planning college visits in order to winnow their wish
lists before senior year applications.
“It’s important to visit while classes are in session,
and to pay attention to what’s going on in the classroom
and outside of the classroom,” advised David Porter,
social architect, consultant to colleges and universities
throughout North America and author of “The Porter
Principles,” a guide to college success through social engineering, (www.porterkhouwconsulting.com).
“What are the wholesome opportunities for socially
rich student engagement and study on-campus? What
extra-curriculars are offered and how accessible are
they? What does the college paper reveal about campus
issues, concerns and opportunities?”
One often overlooked feature is the structure of campus dining, Porter said
“Many universities require freshmen to live on campus for the first year because administrators know that
students who live and dine on campus have higher GPAs
and higher graduation rates than those who don’t. A
properly socially engineered dining-learning commons is
central to the day-to-day lives of all students living oncampus and is crucial for face-to-face social networking
and study with fellow students,” he said.
“But these same universities often fail to realize that
student dining is as much – even more - a factor in developing a sense of community and predicting future success. This is the centerpiece of ‘the classroom outside of
the classroom’.”
Porter offers the following suggestions for evaluating
campus dining commons:
Is there a centralized dining hall or commons, or are
food locations scattered?
A dining-learning commons is the living room of
the campus, a place where students come together and
pause long enough to meet, talk, make friends, see and
be seen, relax, study and collaborate. “These are all vital
not only to bonding but to learning how to socialize with

fellow students from a wide variety of backgrounds in
a neutral environment,” Porter said. “That provides
once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to develop and nurture
valuable networking skills for their personal and future
professional lives. If the meal plan encourages them to
scatter across campus – or go off campus – to pick up
fast foods eaten in isolation, vital opportunities are lost.”
What are the hours of operation?
Students live on a different clock than most of us. For
many students, 11 p.m. is the middle of the day. Is the
dining-learning commons open, thus respecting and
being conducive to their (not our) lifestyle? If so, does it
offer more than microwave pizza and hot dogs? This will
offer a social and safe on-campus environment, Porter
said. “If the place isn’t open when they’re hungry, they’ll
go elsewhere.”
How far is the dining hall from dorms and the academic core of campus?
“I once consulted with a university that was mystified
about why two dining halls got lots of student traffic,
while the third – the most beautiful -- was largely ignored,” Porter said. “When I visited, I discovered the
dining hall had been built on top of a rather steep hill on
the far edge of campus. The location offered great views,
but the climb was a bear!” Dining halls should be within
easy reach of both dorms and classroom buildings in the
academic core or students simply won’t use them.
About David Porter
David Porter, author and social architect, is CEO and
president of Porter Khouw Consulting, Inc., a foodservice master planning and design firm based in Crofton,
Maryland. He has more than 40 years of hands-on food
service operations and consulting experience and is a professional member of the Foodservice Consultants Society
International. He is the author of “The Porter Principles,
Retain & Recruit Students & Alumni, Save Millions on
Dining and Stop Letting Food Service Contractors Eat
Your Lunch,” (www.porterkhouwconsulting.com).

NCC offers technical
education,
option to transfer
to four-year schools
Northwest Iowa Community College
(NCC) in Sheldon is offering two smart
options for students interested in technical programs and transfer courses.
Students who choose to be in one of
the technical programs offered at NCC will
learn their success is about the hands-on
skills they receive.
Students work on equipment in stateof-the-art labs and are guided by instructors who have been in the “real world.”
Technical careers at NCC prepare students for the workforce and they graduate with solid skills and abilities that will
that will help them land a job with the
confidence to make good decisions about
their career.
Many of the NCC technical program
transfer to four-year colleges and universities.
NCC invites students to explore transfer
options by taking the basic core courses
at NCC for two years, allowing them to
save money and go to school closer to
home.
Students can then transfer to a fouryear college or university.
Students interested in career choices
such as accounting, teaching, human

resources and other careers can achieve
their goals by choosing NCC for two years
and then transferring.
NCC offers more than 40 programs of
study.
NCC is seventh in the nation for graduate success (according to CNNMoney.
com); is among top the 20 fastest growing
community colleges in the nation (Community College Week); is among the top
150 best community colleges in the nation for three years in a row (Aspen Institute); has the highest graduation/transfer
rate (CollegeMeasures.com); is the 11th
best community college in the nation
(TheBestSchools.com); is the safest college in Iowa (StateUniversity.com); is
among the top four automotive programs
in the nation (Tomorrow’s Tech 2013
School of the Year Contest sponsored by
O’Reilly Auto Parts and WIX Filters); has
10,000+ college alumni; has a 98 percent
placement rate for college alumni; and is
the 15th best community college in the
nation as rated by CreateaCareer.com.
The average first-time wage of NCC’s
2012 graduates was $17.08 an hour, and
94 percent of NCC graduates are employed
in a related field of study.

February 28, 2014

Life at College
of Saint Mary
College of Saint Mary (CSM) strives to
create an environment that emphasizes
students’ academic, personal and spiritual
development, in addition to making college more affordable. CSM has eliminated
all the “hidden” fees. The university does
not charge a “student activity” fee, a lab
fee, or a “hunt for a parking place” fee. In
fall, 2013, CSM implemented one tuition
price for any full-time student taking 12
or more credits. This keeps it simple…..
One price, period!
CSM has also structured several of our
programs to make attainment of a degree
more certain, affordable and timely. For
instance, most regional colleges accept a
student into an entry level master’s degree program in the professions of occupational therapy or physician assistant
after completion of a bachelor’s degree.
Thus, following baccalaureate study, a
prospective student applies to a two year
occupational therapy or physician assistant program, adding two more years of
cost to their college education. At CSM,
first year college students may be accepted as pre-occupational therapy and
pre- physician assistant students. They
then proceed directly through five years
of education, instead of seven, and graduate with the appropriate master’s degree
enabling them to take the licensure exam,
and be eligible to practice. Not only is the
time to completion shorter, but students
are accepted into the programs of study

and guaranteed a spot from the time they
begin college. This reduces costs and uncertainty.
Finally, CSM is implementing a new
three year Bachelor in Nursing Program
in Fall 2014. Students can elect to do the
Nursing program in four years, but they
can save up to $21,000 by completing the
course work in three years if they attend
year round. Students take all the same
classes they would during a four year
program, they just attend year round.
While these programs are all health
care related, CSM has taken steps to be
sure that our students in business and
education are also graduating with marketable skills. The business program has
recently undergone a significant curriculum revision focusing student work on
analytics (big data) and communication.
This program’s content is based upon
input from Omaha area business owners
who want to hire graduates who know
how to turn data into decisions and then
communicate it well in both written and
spoken venues.
As a teaching-focused institution, College of Saint Mary is a place where students truly grow in mind, body and spirit.
This vibrant community cultivates a passion for academics and inspires student
to walk tall toward the career they have
always dreamed about. Call us today or
schedule a campus visit through CSM.edu
or 800-926-5534 ext. 2355.

Friendships. Connections. Empowerment.
What you gain at College of Saint Mary.
This college experience is one of community – where you’ll learn what
you need to grow in a fulfilling career and find connections for life.
Degrees in
• Nursing NEW 3-year BSN!
• Education
• Occupational Therapy
• Physician Assistant Studies
• Biology
• Paralegal Studies
• Business Analytics & Strategic
Communication
out
Ask ab rting
S sta
TENNI 014!
Fall 2

Schedule your personalized visit now!

CSM.edu • 800-926-5534
enroll@csm.edu

OMAHA, NE
College of Saint Mary is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, 230
South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL, 60604-1413. 800-621-7440.

7-college2014(friendships)CA

February 28, 2014

College Guide

Page 5

New changes to FAFSA impact
collection of parental information
The Iowa College Student Aid Commission (Iowa College Aid) said recent
changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) take effect with
the 2014-15 form.
The FAFSA is a standardized application used to determine eligibility for federal grants, loans and work-study funds
from the federal government.
In addition, many colleges and states,
including Iowa, use FAFSA information
when determining eligibility for institutional and state financial aid programs.
The changes to the FAFSA for the
2014-15 academic year have to do with
the financial information that dependent
students are required to provide for their
parent(s).
Most traditional-aged, college-bound
students are considered dependent and
must include financial information for
both themselves as well as their parents
when completing the FAFSA.
Beginning with the 2014-15 FAFSA,
dependent students are now required to
include income and other financial information from their legal parents (biological or adoptive) regardless of the parents’
marital status or gender, if those parents
live together.
Additionally, the FAFSA will now use
terms like “Parent 1 (father/mother/stepparent)” and “Parent 2 (father/mother/
stepparent)” instead of gender-specific
terms.

Iowa College Aid urges all college-bound students to complete the FAFSA regardless of
their financial situations.

“Before this year, the FAFSA was constructed to collect information about both
of a dependent student’s parents only if
the parents were married,” said Karen

Misjak, executive director of Iowa College
Aid.
“As a result, the FAFSA excluded this
information from some families solely be-

cause the parents weren’t married, even
though the families resided in the same
household.”
Iowa College Aid urges all collegebound students to complete the FAFSA
regardless of their financial situations.
“Most families are eligible for some
form of financial aid, and they need to
apply early to meet the priority deadlines
associated with different programs,” said
Misjak.
The collection of FAFSA information
for both of a dependent student’s unmarried parents when both parents are living
together will not impact the majority of
federal student aid applicants. Nearly 60
percent of FAFSA filers are independent,
and therefore, not impacted by these
changes. Another 20 percent, while dependent, are not impacted as their parents
are married.
A portion of the remainder will also
not be impacted because the parent with
whom the student resides does not live
with the student’s other legal parent.
Students and families who have questions about applying for financial aid, or
are interested in learning more about the
resources available for college and career
planning, can contact Iowa College Aid at
877-272-4456.
Additional resources for Iowa families
as they plan, prepare and pay for college
are available on Iowa College Aid’s website, www.IowaCollegeAid.gov.

College Savings Iowa
offers chance for families
to win a $5,290 account
State Treasurer Michael
L. Fitzgerald is advocating
Iowans to take advantage
of the benefits of College
Savings Iowa to save for
future education expenses.
“We want parents to
know it is never too soon
to start planning for their
children’s education,”
Fitzgerald said. “And as
a way to encourage families to take the first step
towards saving, College
Savings Iowa is giving
away a $5,290 account
this spring.”
Individuals can visit
collegesavingsiowa.com
to enter the giveaway and
see official rules.
College Savings Iowa
offers families a tax advantaged way to save
money for their children’s
higher education.
It only takes $25 to open
an account, and anyone
– parents, grandparents,
friends and relatives – can
invest in College Savings
Iowa on behalf of a child.

Iowa taxpayers have the
additional benefit of being
able to deduct contributions up to $3,098 per
beneficiary account from
their 2014 Iowa adjusted
gross income. (Adjusted
annually for inflation. If
withdrawals are not qualified, the deductions must
be added back to Iowa
taxable income.)
Investors do not need to
be a state resident and can
withdraw their investment
federally tax-free to pay

for qualified higher education expenses, which
includes tuition, books,
supplies and certain room
and board costs at any
eligible college, university, community college or
technical training school
in the United States or
abroad.
(The Earnings portion
of nonqualified withdrawals may be subject to
federal income tax and a
10 percent federal penalty
tax, as well as state and

Application period open
for CCMH hospital
auxiliary scholarships

local income taxes. The
availability of tax or other
benefits may be contingent on meeting other requirements.)
To learn more about
College Savings Iowa,
visit collegesavingsiowa.
com or call 1-888-6729116.
For more information
about future giveaways
and events find College
Savings Iowa on Facebook and Twitter (@Iowa529Plan).

With the shortage of medical professionals becoming
more evident annually, the need for dedicated personnel
in the medical field is more necessary than ever.
One of the most important on-going projects the Crawford County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary sponsors is the
Auxiliary Scholarship Program. More than $75,000 in
scholarship monies has been awarded to deserving individuals pursuing an education in the health care field.
The scholarship program originated more than 25
years ago with two $300 awards and has grown over
the years.
This spring the auxiliary will award deserving individuals scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each – individuals who are furthering their education in a medically-related field, including, but not limited to dentistry,
optometry, psychiatry, x-ray, nursing or doctoring.
The Auxiliary will accept recommendations for and applications from any student living in and/or attending a
school in Crawford County.
Decisions regarding recipients will be based on financial need, academic standing, outside activities and employment, references, interest in a health-field career,
and the applicants’ interviews with the scholarship committee.
If the scholarship recipient maintains a 3.0 grade point
average, he or she will be eligible to receive a $1,500
scholarship, by application, for one additional year during the course of study in their chosen medical field.
Those individuals interested in applying for the scholarship should contact their high school guidance counselor, the office of Western Iowa Tech Community College, the administrative office at Crawford County Memorial Hospital or by going online to www.ccmhia.com
and clicking on the “Reference Quick Links.”
The deadline for the return of applications is on or
before April 12, 2014. Applications should be sent to:
Karen Wood, Scholarship Chairman, Crawford County
Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, 100 Medical Parkway,
Denison, IA 51442.

AT IOWA LAKES COMMUNITY COLLEGE,
YOU CAN CHOOSE A PROGRAM FROM
OVER 100 AREAS OF STUDY!
THINK ‘SMART’ ABOUT
COLLEGE SAVINGS!

Scan to learn more!

When you’re searching for a college, choose Iowa Lakes.
Data shows college students can save more than $5,000 (in
tuition/fees, room & board and books) per year by attending
Iowa Lakes Community College.
More than $950,000 in scholarships also available to help pay
for your education.

YOUR FUTURE STARTS @ IOWA LAKES

:
e
g
e
l
l
o
C
f
r
o
Wald
y reasons!
for so man

1-866-IA-LAKES • WWW.IOWALAKES.EDU

ALGONA • EMMETSBURG • ESTHERVILLE • SPENCER • SPIRIT LAKE
For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program,
and other important information, please visit our website at www.iowalakes.edu.

*Contact an admissions counselor to arrange your visit!
Waldorf College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of
Colleges and Schools. For gainful employment disclosures, visit: www.waldorf.edu/disclosure
7-college(2014)WA

February 28, 2014

College Guide

Page 7

ACT report reveals untapped pool
of STEM-interested students
Students need early,
ongoing guidance
to encourage pursuit
of STEM career
opportunities

A new report from ACT revealed an
untapped pool of students who have an
interest in STEM areas (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) but
are not planning to pursue a STEM career as they prepare for the future. The
data point to a gap between interests and
intentions that, if addressed, could help
put more students on the path to STEM
careers.
“The good news is that student interest in STEM is high overall,” said Jon Erickson, ACT president of education and
career solutions. “The bad news is that
a sizable number of students may not be
connecting the dots between their innate
interests and a potential STEM-related
career.”
The ACT national and state report series, The Condition of STEM 2013, examines the expressed and measured interests of high school graduates in the
class of 2013 who took the ACT college
readiness exam. Expressed interest is
when students say they intend to pursue

a particular major or occupation. Measured interest, in contrast, is derived from
students’ responses to the ACT Interest
Inventory, a battery of questions that
measures preferences for different types
of work tasks.
A total of 48 percent of the ACT-tested
2013 graduates had expressed and/or
measured interest in STEM, including
16 percent who had both. Twenty-three
percent had only expressed interest, planning to pursue a STEM career even though
their inventory results suggest that other
fields may be better aligned to their interests. But nearly one out of every 10
graduates (nine percent) had only measured interest in STEM; they had no plans
to pursue a STEM major or career despite
their innate interest.
“Nothing is more costly to the nation
than untapped potential, and that’s why
we must do more to ensure that all students understand the career opportunities that match their interests, particularly those that exist in important STEM
fields,” said Erickson. “If we can identify
students earlier and then keep them engaged, they may be more likely to choose
a STEM career.”
ACT’s report also points to a gap between STEM interest and preparation.
Around half or more of the 2013 ACTtested graduates planning to pursue
STEM majors and careers were not ready
to succeed in first-year math or science

coursework in college. Readiness was
significantly higher, however, among
students with both expressed and measured interest than among those with
only expressed interest.
“Early assessment and intervention
are extremely important in helping students get on track for college and career
success, and that’s particularly true in
the areas of math and science, where so
many of our students are falling behind,”
said Erickson. “That’s one reason why
we’ve built STEM scores and benchmarks
into our new ACT Aspire system and why
we’re committed to keeping science tests
in the ACT and ACT Aspire assessments.”
Selecting a career that matches interests can help students succeed.
Previous ACT research has shown that
when students’ interests are aligned with
their chosen college majors, they are more
likely to remain in their major, persist in
college and complete their degree in a
timely manner.
“The findings in this new report are
supported by those in our recent College
Choice Report, which showed that a surprising number of students are planning
to pursue majors or careers that don’t
match their interests,” said Wayne Camara, ACT senior vice president of research. “If we encourage young students
who are interested in STEM to consider
related careers, I believe both they and
U.S. employers will benefit.”

A number of national reports have
pointed to a need for more workers in
STEM fields. A recent report from the
Bayer Corporation’s Facts of Science
Education survey suggests Fortune 1000
companies are struggling to fill STEM positions due to a shortage of qualified candidates. And a 2012 report by President
Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science
and Technology concluded that the need
for STEM professionals will significantly
outweigh the availability of those workers over the next decade if current trends
continue.
“This report gives educators, business leaders and policymakers access
to important new information regarding
the condition of STEM education in our
country,” said Lisa Brady Gill, executive
director of education policy and advocacy
for Texas Instruments. “We feel it provides much-needed insight that will help
us as we work together towards real and
meaningful change in this area.”
The STEM job outlook is strong, and
STEM occupations tend to be high paying, according to the U.S. Department of
Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the
recently released U.S. News & World Report 100 Best Jobs of 2014, more than
half of the top 50 jobs are STEM related.
The Condition of STEM 2013 reports for
the nation and for each state can be accessed for free on ACT’s website at www.
act.org/stemcondition.

Ellsworth Community College
An amazing experience!
ECC has more than 70 degree programs, from
Agriculture, Biotechnology and Criminal Justice
to Finance, Nursing and Renewable Energy
Technology.
ECC students graduate with $15,660 to $17,900
less debt than students at Iowa’s public
universities or private colleges.
ECC’s partnerships with UNI, Iowa State and Iowa
make it easy to transfer your Ellsworth credits.

Ellsworth’s not the biggest ... just the
best! Call or visit the ECC Admissions
Office to apply for scholarships and
register for classes.

College Success 101: 15 habits
to put you ahead of the pack
by Dr. Lynn F. Jacobs
and Jeremy Hymann
Visit just about any college campus and
you’ll observe students who are, to put it
simply, doing college right. No, they’re not
perfect (who is?), but they are diligent and
perform well academically, while still enjoying a healthy social life and maybe even
holding down a part-time job or raising a
family. They’re on good terms with their
professors, and they take a full - but not
overwhelming - course load each semester.
They’re likely to seek out internships and
participate in on-campus student organizations, and no one wonders whether or
not they have what it takes to make it to
graduation.
So, what is it that makes this group of
college students successful, while others
are, well, less so? The Secrets of College
Success, which is newly revised and contains more than 800 tips, provides answers
to these questions and offers beginning
(and continuing) students the tools they’ll
need to become successful themselves.
“Sometimes success is a question of intelligence or insight, and sometimes it’s
sheer good luck,” said Jeremy S. Hyman,
co-author with Lynn F. Jacobs of “The Secrets of College Success: Over 800 Tips,
Techniques, and Strategies Revealed, 2nd
Edition”.

“But a lot of the time, success happens
because of good habits - things you do on
a regular basis that set you apart from the
hordes of other, more scattered students,”
he said.
“College is a completely different place,
academically and socially, from high
school,” added Jacobs. “Developing some
strategically important, college-level habits will make the transition go much more
smoothly - and help ensure your success.”
Hyman and Jacobs, who have taught at
eight different colleges and universities,
share in their book decades’ worth of their
observations and advice on everything
from choosing a major to avoiding bad
professors to developing study and time
management skills and much, much more.
To help students hit the ground running
in the coming semester, Jacobs and Hyman
share 15 habits that the most successful
students tend to share. You’ll find that
these individuals:
Have a goal. Successful students
have a definite reason for being in
college - and know what it is. “Could be
a future career, graduate or professional
school, or just wanting to further their
education,” said Hyman. “But it’s almost
never because their parents told them to go
to college, or because it’s the next thing to
do after high school, or because they’re too
unimaginative to think up anything else to

1

do with their time.”
Set priorities. For every student,
college is a balancing act between
going to classes, doing the homework, having a social life, and, for many students,
holding down a job. But the successful student knows how much time to allot to each
of these activities - and how to set limits.
“Maybe partying is held down on weeknights, or an employer is told that hours
have to be cut back during the jam-packed
midterm week, or the family Thanksgiving
dinner is jettisoned in favor of extra work
on the term paper,” said Jacobs. “Look,
there are only 168 hours in a week - and
not one of them can be spent twice.”
Divide up the work. For the successful student, readings get broken
up into manageable chunks (not 200 pages
in one sitting); quizzes and tests are studied for over the course of a week (not at 3
a.m. the night before); and ideas for papers
start gestating when the assignment is
handed out (not two days before the paper
is due, when you can barely formulate an
idea, much less think through an issue).
“Cramming may be a habit you’re used to
from high school, but that doesn’t mean
it’ll work well at college,” said Hyman.
Are organized. Successful students
have gotten used to the fact that, in
college courses, there’s not a lot of redundancy, review, or “going over.” So they

2

3

4

make it their business to make it to most
of the lectures (and they don’t cut the sections, such as science labs or discussion
groups, either). “We’ve noticed that successful students take really good class
notes and keep them in super-neat condition,” said Jacobs. “And they always get
their work turned in on time - no one-week
extensions that only make it harder to
complete the work in their other courses.”
Work efficiently. Each task is done
well - and once. For these students,
there’s no listening to the lecture a second time on their iPod (they paid careful
attention the first time); no copying over
all their notes (why would they do that if
they have a good set from the lecture?); no
doing the reading three times (once for a
general overview, once to understand the
argument or direction, and once to focus in
on the finer points). “In a 15-week semester, with four or five courses on tap, who
has time to do things twice, or, in the case
of some students, thrice?” asked Hyman.
Are consistent. Successful students do the work every week even when nothing is happening on the
grade front. These students realize that
in college, most professors expect the
bulk of the work to be done by you, on
your own. “When asked, most professors will say that they expect students
to do one to two hours of work outside

February 28, 2014
of class for every class period: doing the
reading and homework; preparing for the
quizzes, tests, and presentations; doing
research and writing papers, etc.,” said
Jacobs. “Figure out an out-of-class study
schedule that works for you and stick to it.
Many students also find it helpful to stake
out a regular study spot: a particular table
in the library, their dorm’s lounge, a quiet
coffee shop, or their own desks.”
Are persistent. Successful students
know that sometimes the going gets
tough. Maybe there’s a problem set that
requires serious hard thinking, or a paper
that has to go through a number of painful drafts, or a presentation that has to be
rehearsed until one really has it down. But
whatever the case, the successful student
doesn’t flinch at the extra effort needed or
the uncertainty of the result while he or
she is still working on it. “This student’s
mantra: I’ll get this thing right if it kills
me - which, of course, it usually doesn’t,”
commented Hyman.
Challenge themselves. Successful
students are intellectually energetic.
So, when they read, they think actively and
critically about what they’re reading (not
just slog their way through, to get the plot).
When they go to class, they actively think
about, and question, what the professor is
saying (not just taking it all in like a giant
sponge). And when they write papers, they
probe more deeply into nuances of the
issue (not just looking for the most basic
“yes/no” answer). “Above all, they get the
wheels and springs of their minds moving
and keep them moving throughout every
intellectual task,” said Jacobs. “That, let me
tell you, is a professor’s dream.”
Hang out with smart friends.
Successful students know that peer
support is as important as getting good
grades from professors. Finding friends
who are intellectually engaged and eager

7

8

9

College Guide
- in some cases, taking the same classes
as you - can stimulate and reinforce your
own intellectual drive. “On the other hand,
spending lots of time with dormmates who
don’t know what courses they’re taking or even why they’re in college at all - can
create an atmosphere so toxic that any attempts to do well immediately wither and
die,” warned Hyman.
Are open to feedback. The best
students realize that returned
papers and exams are a golden opportunity. These are the times in the semester
when the professor is giving one-on-one,
customized feedback on your own level of
achievement. So instead of tossing away
the graded papers and exams, or conveniently forgetting to pick them up, it’s good
to pore over the comments and redo the
missed problems in the hopes of really
learning where you went wrong - all with
a non-defensive and genuinely open frame
of mind. “This is tough for everyone, but
somehow these students manage to do it often while deepening their relationships
with their professors,” said Jacobs.
Engage the professor. Successful students realize that the prof
isn’t just some content-dispensing machine, pouring out what he or she knows
during lectures, but is a working scholar
who’s happy to work with them on the
content and materials of the course. With
this is mind, these students go to office
hours, talk to the professor (or TA) after
class, and e-mail questions about things
they didn’t understand. “In the best case,
students forge a two-way relationship with
the professor and, in doing so, learn more
than the average college student and defeat
the anonymity of the (for some students)
alienating mega-university,” Hyman said.
Don’t kid themselves. When
they study, successful students
are really studying - not flitting between

10

11

12

Page 9

the e-article, their Facebook page, and the
football scores. When they get a bad grade,
they don’t just tell themselves everyone
messed up or the professor gave an unfair test. “And when things aren’t going
quite according to plan, they diagnose the
problem and, if need be, adjust the plan,”
said Jacobs.
Manage their emotions. It’s difficult to excel at college if you’re
feeling inadequate, bummed out, or doomed
to fail. So, successful students know how
to focus on their own positive achievements - rather than on their failure to get a
check-plus on the quiz that counts for only
two percent of the grade. And they’re not
hypercompetitive or concerned to find out
how everyone else did on that just-returned
piece of work. “They know that, for every
assignment, there’ll probably be someone
doing better than they did, and many doing
a whole heck of a lot worse,” said Hyman.
“And even if not, there’s nothing they can
do about it, so why add negative emotions
to a less-than-stellar situation?”
Visualize success. For any
multi-step activity, especially one
that’s spread out over four or five years and
40-odd courses, it’s helpful to visualize the
end product and to imagine the good feelings that will come with it. That’s why the
most successful college students repeatedly picture what will come at the end of
the road for them: their dream job, their acceptance to a prestigious graduate or professional school, or simply the next stage in
their lives. “This provides motivation and
energy, especially when you’re in a rut, and
makes it all seem worthwhile,” said Jacobs.
Strive for excellence. No matter
what the task, successful students aim to do it well. “Could be the term
paper, the midterm, or even the (seemingly
dumb to others) weekly quizzes, problem
sets, or daily homework,” said Hyman.

13

14

15

“No matter. If I’m going to put my name on
it, top students think, I might as well do it
well. Which they usually do.”
“Now that you know these 15 habits, you
shouldn’t think that no mere mortal could
develop them,” said Jacobs. “Look at yourself. You could. With any luck you might
already have developed three or four (or
more) of these habits in high school.”
“But whatever the case, as you start college, strive to develop as many of them as
you can,” urged Hyman. “Your life, both in
college and after, will thank you.”
About the authors
Dr. Lynn F. Jacobs and Jeremy S. Hyman
are coauthors of “The Secrets of College
Success: Over 800 Tips, Techniques, and
Strategies Revealed, 2nd Edition”. Jacobs is
a professor of art history at the University
of Arkansas and has previously taught at
Vanderbilt University, California State University Northridge, and NYU. Hyman is the
founder and chief architect of Professors’
Guide content products. He is a lecturer in
philosophy at the University of Arkansas
and previously taught at UCLA, MIT, and
Princeton University.
Jacobs and Hyman write an education
column at U.S. News and World Report and
have contributed to the New York Times
“The Choice” blog, Reader’s Digest, Fox
Business, Huffington Post, and numerous
other television, radio, print, and Internet
media.
They offer a college orientation program,
Gimme an A: The Secrets of College Success,
and are currently developing a video course
for first-year college students.
Jacobs and Hyman live in Fayetteville,
Arkansas, with their 15-year-old collegebound son, Jonah. Their website is www.
professorsguide.com and they can be
reached at lynn@professorsguide.com and
jeremy@professorsguide.com.

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
DISTANCE MASTER’S DEGREE
designed for Iowa educators,
tailored for real life.

• Build a professional family with a cohort of educators
from western Iowa.
• DISTANCE FRIENDLY
3 meetings/semester in Council Bluffs + online instruction
For program details contact:
Dr. Kathy Danielson, Program Chair
kdanielson@unomaha.edu
402-554-2218

ht tp://coe.unomaha.edu
The University of Nebraska at Omaha is an equal opportunity educator
and employer with a comprehensive plan for diversity.
88-College(2014)NA

7-College(UNO)UA

Page 10

College Guide

February 28, 2014

It’s not your momma’s
college application process
Old school
rules that need
to be broken
by Alison Cooper Chisolm and Anna Ivey
All across America, the parents of rising high school
seniors are gearing up to help their children tackle this
fall’s college applications. Yes, there’s a lot of excitement about taking this major step, but it’s mixed with
a liberal dose of dread. Acceptance to top schools gets
more brutally competitive every year. The number and
variety of standardized tests seem to sprout like mushrooms. Were your kids really supposed to be building
huts in Guatemala over the summer instead of lifeguarding? And why are there so many application essays to write now?
It’s enough to make any sane person throw her hands
up in the air. If you’re like most parents, you probably
can’t help but feel a little wistful about how much easier
life was back when you yourself were applying to college. Despite the many ways in which college admissions has changed, though, parents can still do a lot to
help their children child navigate this important process,
but only if they know which information is and isn’t up
to date.
“Parents can and do play an important role in helping
their children stay focused and motivated in the run-up
to application season, especially during crunch time,”
said Alison Cooper Chisolm, coauthor with Anna Ivey of
How to Prepare a Standout College Application: Expert
Advice That Takes You from LMO (Like Many Others)
to Admit. “But in fact, they sometimes steer their kids
in the wrong direction because they rely on outdated
wisdom about what it takes to get in.”
“No question, in some ways the college application
process was easier back when today’s parents were in
high school,” said Ivey. “It’s important to realize what
has changed, otherwise it’s too easy to default into what
worked best for you back then. What got you in then
might not get them in now.”
Modern technology can be a blessing and a curse in
that regard, said Chisholm.
“Discussions boards and social media feed a lot of
misinformation,” she said. “As with any social media
today, it can be hard to separate truth from fiction.
There’s lots of good, reliable information out there
about the admissions process, but it can be hard to tease
it out from the conventional wisdom that might be completely wrong.”
The authors, both admissions coaches and former
admissions officers, talk to hundreds of parents every
year about their most pressing admissions questions,
and they find themselves debunking the same myths
over and over again.
Realizing that parents needed reliable, real-time admissions advice as much as the applicants themselves,
they wrote their new book, How to Prepare a Standout
College Application, with both students and parents in
mind. Their guide to every component of the application includes special tips for parents and debunks the
holdover, outdated admissions advice that is still in circulation.
Following are what Chisolm and Ivey consider the top
six myths about college admissions:
The Myth: More is better. In the past, college applicants were instructed to show how “well-rounded”
they were by filling in every single line on the Activities list.
Nothing - not even playing the dulcimer once at a cultural festival - was too insignificant to report. The more
interests, achievements, and activities an applicant

could share, the thinking went, the more impressive
he would be (e.g., “Can you believe that this student
found time to lead four school clubs, play three different
sports, march in the band, tutor children, write poetry,
participate in Boy Scouts, and get good grades?”).
The New Reality: Deep passion and big impact
matter a lot more. “There is no reward at all just for
signing up, showing up, or meeting the minimum requirements,” said Ivey. “Admissions officers would
rather see real commitment to a smaller number of activities, because they can realistically assume that applicants will bring those interests, skills, and talents with
them to campus. Not so with the one-time-only dulcimer
performance!”
The Myth: It’s best to leave a (long) paper trail.
Sending colleges newspaper clippings, your history
paper (“Truly outstanding!” read the teacher’s comment), science project descriptions, and as much unsolicited documentation as possible used to be a big trend.
Parents and students who believe this myth operate on
the assumption that anything to make their file thicker
will help. They envision admissions officers raptly poring over each and every sheet of paper, slowly falling in
love as they learn more and more about the applicant.
The New Reality: Concise is nice. “Less is more,
clippings are out, and YouTube videos are sometimes
in (but proceed with caution),” said Chisolm. “A great
application is neither a scrapbook nor a PR media kit.
Don’t get me wrong - it’s not that admissions officers
don’t want to get a clear, accurate picture of each student. They do! That’s partially why there are so many
quirky long- and short-answer questions on applications. But the reality is, with thousands of applications
to evaluate, there simply isn’t time to read 10 newspaper articles about how you won the science fair. And
chances are, your application will reflect the fact that
you’re a chemistry fiend, anyway.”
The Myth: Geography determines which standardized test you should take. In days gone by there was
some truth to the belief that East Coast colleges prefer
the SAT to the ACT, while Midwestern and Southern
colleges prefer the ACT to the SAT.
The New Reality: Testing knows no borders (and
sometimes isn’t required at all). “These days, top colleges accept either test, so focus on the one that plays
to your strengths,” said Ivey. “If you’re a repeat test
taker, familiarize yourself with each of your colleges’
mix-and-match opportunities like Score Choice and
Super Scoring. Also, be aware that at some schools, reporting any test scores at all is optional - and that trend
is growing.”
The Myth: Early Decision helps only the cream of
the crop. Early Decision was once thought of as a good
strategy only for the super-duper top of the applicant
pool. It won’t make a difference for anyone else, applicants believed, so why worry about completing an application months before the regular decision deadline?
The New Reality: Applying early can give many
applications a boost. “Early Decision (especially when
it’s binding for admitted students) can make the difference, and it’s worth considering as long as you’re at
least competitive for that college,” Chisolm said. “Colleges want to ‘lock in’ qualified students who are interested in attending, because they know they’ll ‘lose’
many similar Regular Decision applicants to other
schools. But if you’re not in the running to begin with,
applying early won’t make a difference.”
The Myth: High-profile endorsements help. In general, people believe that name-dropping can’t hurt. It’s
a common belief that recommendations from college
alumni, university VIPs or the president will only help
your application.
The New Reality: Recommendations from famous
people add next to no value. “However, admissions
officers might get a good chuckle from these ‘high-

profile’ letters,” Ivey said. “The fact is that top schools
have thousands of living alumni out there, so coughing
one up is no distinction. What can help is called a ‘flag
on the file’ - when someone with a truly important connection to the school makes a behind-the-scenes call on
your behalf. That’s just a small plus, though, not a huge
one. As admissions officers, Alison and I each denied
lots of people with important recommenders and flags
on the file and had carte blanche to do so. It really does
happen.”
The Myth: Community service needs to be “exotic.”
Unfortunately many parents lie awake at night worrying
that they’ll need to wipe out their retirement savings in
order to send their kids on glitzy but charitable-looking
trips to exotic places every summer. Otherwise, they believe, their child’s community service won’t stand out
from that of thousands of other applicants.
The New Reality: Service is service, wherever it
happens. “The first 10 people who tried the ‘exotic locale’ strategy may have made an impression just for the
sheer novelty, but it doesn’t distinguish anyone today
and hasn’t impressed admissions officers in a long, long
time,” said Ivey. “There are plenty of opportunities to
do something meaningful closer to home and without
spending a king’s ransom. And admissions officers realize that volunteering every week at a nursing home
for the past four years demonstrates much more commitment and compassion than a parent-funded weeklong mission trip to South America, for example.”
Bonus Myth (which hasn’t been true since the
Eisenhower era): Applications should read as though
they were written by adults. In the more distant past,
a great college application essay emulated the style of
sober-minded grown-ups or middle-aged managers. All
evidence of adolescent quirkiness, it was believed, must
be squelched.
The New Reality: Essays should sound like a teenager both in voice and in content. “Rewriting your
child’s essay to talk about the ‘sweat equity’ that went
into founding the Model UN Club won’t fool anyone, and
the end result will be far less interesting to admissions
officers than what your child would have written when
left to her own devices,” Chisolm said. “Admissions
officers know that teenagers, not adults, are applying.
They don’t expect perfection or even consummate maturity. What they do expect is to get an accurate picture of
who the applicant is and what she likes, believes, hopes,
and does from reading her application.”
“I miss the ’80s as much as the next Gen Xer, but
it’s time to leave the retro admissions advice behind,”
said Ivey. “In general, doing so will give your child more
freedom to be authentic, and it will – hopefully - help
you to worry a little bit less.”
About the authors
Alison Cooper Chisolm and Anna Ivey are the coauthors of How to Prepare a Standout College Application:
Expert Advice That Takes You from LMO* (*Like Many
Others) to Admit. They work together at Cambridge,
Massachusetts-based Ivey College Consulting, an admissions coaching firm that helps applicants around the
world get into top U.S. colleges.
Their blog can be read at www.AnnaIvey.com. They
can be followed on Facebook at /IveyCollege and on
Twitter at @IveyCollege.
Alison Cooper Chisolm draws on her admissions experience at three of the nation’s most selective universities: Southern Methodist University, the University of
Chicago, and (most recently) Dartmouth College.
Anna Ivey is a former dean of admissions at the University of Chicago Law School, where she made final admissions decisions on thousands of applicants. Inspired
to help applicants navigate the admissions process more
effectively, she founded Ivey Consulting and assembled
a first-rate team of experts to coach college, law school,
and business school applicants one-on-one.

February 28, 2014

College Guide

Page 11

Student volunteerism can have a positive
impact ... and help pay for college
Volunteerism can help young people
grow into well-rounded, responsible individuals. When volunteering, kids can learn
new skills, foster new friendships and contacts, and improve both their social and
interpersonal skills. In addition, a 2011
study from researchers at the Stony Brook
University School of Medicine found that
people are generally happier and healthier
when giving back to their communities.
The study even recommended that health
care professionals recommend volunteering
to patients 12 and older, with the belief that
helping others provides significant health
benefits, including allowing volunteers to
escape their stress and anxiety. And, there
could even be a few added bonuses for volunteering!
Students between the ages of six and
18 who haven’t yet graduated high school
have the chance to be recognized for their
volunteering efforts and earn money for
higher education thanks to Kohl’s Department Stores. For more than a decade, the
Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program has
recognized more than 19,500 students,
awarding nearly $4 million in scholarships
and prizes. This year the organization will
award nearly $400,000 in scholarships
and prizes to more than 2,300 young volunteers who have made a positive impact
in their communities.
Finding the right activity is often the
most important step when fostering a love
of volunteering in youngsters, and there
are a number of great opportunities and

causes that children can relate to.
Embrace eco-volunteering.
Today’s kids are increasingly eco-conscious, and concepts like recycling, reusing and conserving fuel and energy are
second nature to many young people. That
makes eco-volunteering a natural fit for today’s eco-conscious students. Children can
volunteer with organizations that remove
trash from beaches and parks; plant trees
to establish community green spaces; work
to promote wildlife conservation; or further
recycling efforts in their communities.
Help the needy.
Volunteerism can open youngsters’ eyes

Is your college student
wondering what’s happening HERE
while she is in college THERE?
Only $32
for a
9-month
student
subscription!
Make the transition to college
a little easier and send their
hometown news with them!
For more information, contact:
Denison Bulletin & Review
1410 Broadway w Denison, Iowa 51442
12-263-2122 w 800-657-5889

to the plight of the less fortunate. Various organizations dedicated to helping the
needy depend on volunteers of all ages to
meet their missions. From soup kitchens to
shelters to private clothing or food collection drives, opportunities abound for kids
who want to help the less fortunate.
Help the sick.
Many organizations that cater to the sick
also provide volunteering opportunities to
youngsters. Many kids who volunteer with
such organizations are motivated to do so
by a close friend or family member’s battle
with a particular illness, but some kids even
turn their own personal adversity into an

opportunity to help the sick.
Such was the case with 18-year-old Tyler
O’Briant of Tonganoxie, Mo. After spending
more than three semesters of high school in
and out of Children’s Mercy Hospital battling chronic bacterial and viral infections,
Tyler, a 2013 Kohl’s Cares Scholarship winner, decided to host a book drive and fundraiser, which ultimately raised more than
$1,150 to purchase books and e-readers for
the hospital waiting rooms, where young
patients now have access to hundreds of
books thanks to Tyler’s efforts.
Visit the elderly.
Kids can learn a lot from their elders,
and many organizations that work with
the elderly offer volunteering programs for
boys and girls. Individuals in group homes
or hospitals often appreciate visits from
youngsters, and kids can learn valuable life
lessons in return.
Tutor fellow students.
A child who is proficient in a given subject can lend a helping hand to fellow students who need some assistance. Working together to improve grades and school
performance can improve others’ sense of
self-worth and instill a greater sense of accomplishment in tutors.
Volunteering can foster a sense of social
responsibility in youngsters, and may even
help them finance their college educations.
Nominations for the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program are accepted from January 31,
2014 to March 14, 2014. More information
is available at www.kohlskids.com.

avings
S

are all around you

Attend Western Iowa Tech Community
College for two years:
UÊÃÌ>ÀÌÊÞÕÀÊV>ÀiiÀÊÜÌ Ê>Ê>ÃÃV>Ìi½ÃÊ
`i}Àii]ÊVÀi>Ã}ÊÞÕÀÊviÌiÊi>À}ÃÊ
LÞÊÛiÀÊf{ää]äää
UÊÃ>ÛiÊmore than $40]äääÊvÊ>ÊÜ>Ê«ÀÛ>ÌiÊ
Vi}iÊÃÊÞÕÀÊv>Ê`iÃÌ>Ì